King: Gulfstream pick four play for Sunday, Jan. 10
A series of deep, competitive races make the 50-cent pick four at Gulfstream one of the more appealing wagers at that track Sunday. So let’s take a swing at hitting it.
Race 8
I slightly prefer two horses in this first-level turf allowance for 3-year-old fillies: INSTA ERMA (2) and GLIDING BY (4), both of whom go down as ‘A’ runners in the ABC ranking system used in Daily Racing Form’s Ticketmaker program. Each is a winner on the turf and has run Beyer Speed Figures in the 70s on the grass.
I will use one backup ‘B’ horse in CONQUEST BEBOP (13), who stylishly won her maiden on Polytrack in her only start and seems like the type to like the grass. She would have ranked as an ‘A’ if she had drawn better than she did. She figures to lose ground from the far outside post.
:: See Byron King's Gulfstream pick four play in DRF TicketMaker and bet it with DRF Bets
Race 9
COMING ATTRACTION (6) is the fastest and seemingly the classiest filly and looks like one of the most likely winners on the card. Budget-minded horseplayers may wish to consider singling her.
Given that she hasn’t run for nearly three months, I’ll use a couple backup ‘B’ horses in FROSTY FRIDAY (10) and NOUVELLE VAGUE (14). They likely aren’t good enough, but if one upsets, it could add blow-up potential to the pick four.
Race 10
The lone dirt race of this sequence, this starter allowance has become a scramble with the scratch of morning-line favorite One More Night.
I will try three ‘A’ horses: OLTRE’ ORO (5), UNION LABEL (9), and NEWFOUND GOLD (11).
Race 11
A number of inexperienced horses make this maiden turf race for 3-year-old fillies a puzzler. Preference goes to FABULOUS DEVOTION (9) and WINGED FURY (12), who have run well at times on grass and are marked as the two ‘A’ plays.
Backing them up, used as ‘B’ horses, are CONQUEST TIZFIRE (1) and DADDY’S GREAT BAY (11). The former appears to be a promising first-time starter, while the latter ran third in her debut when sprinting on Polytrack and is bred for turf as a daughter of Scat Daddy.
The ticket
Plugging the above-mentioned horses into Ticketmaker, for $81, an all ‘A’ ticket can be played for $1.50; any combination of three ‘A’ horses and ‘B’ for $1; and two ‘A’ horses and two ‘B’ runners for 50 cents.